Connect with us

Technology

Supporting PM Modi’s call, IIFL Finance’s Mayank Sharma believes recycling household gold is the fastest way to cut import bill

Published

4 hours ago

on

Opinion Piece by Mayank Sharma, President and Head, Gold Loans, IIFL Finance: Supporting the Prime Minister’s call through gold recycling, reuse and financialisation

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — India’s household gold stock, built over generations through weddings, inheritance and savings, holds the real answer to the country’s import dependence on the metal, according to Mayank Sharma, President and Head, Gold Loans, IIFL Finance, who said “circulation” rather than “abstinence” should be the guiding principle of the country’s gold economy.

Mayank Sharma, President and Head, Gold Loans, IIFL Finance said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to Indians to hold off on buying new gold for a year, framed as a measure to ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves, points to a more structural opportunity — recycling and reusing the gold Indians already own rather than importing more.

Gold remains India’s second-largest import item by value, a trend that puts pressure on the rupee, widens the current account deficit and consumes foreign exchange needed for other national priorities, Sharma said, adding that the country is estimated to hold tens of thousands of tonnes of gold in private hands, most of which does not currently circulate through the formal economy in an organised, transparent manner.

He noted that industry, rather than mandate, is beginning to drive this shift. A leading gold jeweller has said close to 80 per cent of its gold demand is now met through customers exchanging old stock, reflecting how deeply recycling has embedded itself in retail gold buying. A newer generation of buyers is also increasingly seeking clarity on the provenance of their gold, signalling that responsible sourcing is fast becoming a mainstream expectation rather than a niche concern.

The World Gold Council has separately argued at the policy level that responsible domestic mining, combined with organised recycling, can meaningfully cut India’s reliance on gold imports over time.

Sharma said that gold loans have emerged as one of the most efficient ways to keep gold liquid and productive without removing it from the economy. When a household pledges gold for credit instead of selling it, the gold stays within the country’s stock while the credit unlocked supports working capital for small businesses, medical emergencies, education or farm input costs, he said, adding that this model has become a particularly dependable bridge to credit for MSMEs that often lack formal collateral.

He also pointed to the financialisaton of gold through ETFs and digital gold products, which allow Indians to hold gold’s value without holding the physical metal, reducing physical import demand at the margin while preserving gold’s traditional role as a hedge and store of value.

Taken together — organised recycling, responsible sourcing, credit against existing stock and financialisaton — these trends point to a gold economy that draws more on India’s existing reserves than on fresh imports, Sharma said. He described this not as a call to stop buying gold but as a case for buying and using it differently, whether through exchanging old jewellery, borrowing against family gold instead of making a fresh purchase, or opting for digital gold.

While the Prime Minister’s appeal addressed a real and urgent macroeconomic concern, the more durable solution to India’s gold dependency lies in building the transparency, trust and infrastructure needed to treat the country’s existing gold stock as a national resource that can be recycled, financed and circulated for years to come, Sharma said.

About IIFL Finance Limited

IIFL Finance is one of India’s leading financial services companies, offering a comprehensive suite of products, including gold loans, business loans, home loans, microfinance, and other secured lending solutions. With a strong presence across urban and rural India, IIFL is committed to empowering individuals and businesses through accessible and affordable credit solutions.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/3009040/IIFL_Finance_Mayank_Sharma.jpg

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/supporting-pm-modis-call-iifl-finances-mayank-sharma-believes-recycling-household-gold-is-the-fastest-way-to-cut-import-bill-302884491.html

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Technology

FutureSports to create world’s first broad-based indexes on MLB team performance

Published

42 minutes ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Exclusive agreement paves the way for CME FSPI baseball futures

CHICAGO, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — FutureSports, the independent index administrator transforming professional and college sports statistics into rules-based, benchmark financial indexes, today announced an agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to create first-of-their-kind indexes on baseball team performance. Under the agreement, MLB will provide FutureSports with Official League Data that the company will use to create new broad-based CME FutureSports Performance Indexes (FSPI) on each of the 30 MLB clubs.

The agreement paves the way for CME Group to list weekly, monthly and quarterly cash-settled futures contracts, pending regulatory review, based on the CME FSPI MLB benchmarks.

CME FSPI are designed to systematically measure the cumulative performance of teams in prominent sports leagues. The play-by-play benchmark indexes will provide hedging vehicles and investment opportunities.

Rhett Dinsdale, Co-Founder of FutureSports, said: “We’re thrilled to collaborate with MLB to create indexes on America’s beloved sport. The business of baseball has grown significantly over the years, and we aim to provide a new way for the industry participants to hedge their capital exposures.”     

FutureSports and CME Group are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and transparency. CME FSPI are administered using transparent, rules-based methodologies derived from Official League Data, helping ensure that index values are determined objectively and independently. FutureSports and CME Group will work with MLB on integrity matters related to CME FSPI baseball futures contracts, establishing a framework to share information in a manner consistent with applicable law. MLB will have no involvement in the determination, calculation or governance of the indexes, which are the purview of FutureSports.

FutureSports and the National Hockey League (NHL) previously announced the creation of CME FSPI based on hockey team performance, and CME Group intends to launch futures contracts on the indexes on Sept. 28, pending regulatory review.

About FutureSports

Under development since 2022 and launched in 2026, Chicago-based FutureSports has created a proprietary index methodology for measuring on-field, on-ice and on-court performance for a range of professional sporting teams and athletes. Partnering with many of the most recognizable sports leagues and financial market participants, FutureSports transforms live, play-by-play statistical data into rules-based, benchmark indexes that may be referenced by exchange-listed financial products. The indexes are designed to serve the same benchmarking function as the leading equity, commodity and fixed income indexes utilized every day across major global exchanges to track performance and hedge risk in the financial markets. FutureSports administers the indexes independently, with formal governance, oversight and methodology change procedures designed to align with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Financial Benchmarks. For more information, visit www.futuresports.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/futuresports-to-create-worlds-first-broad-based-indexes-on-mlb-team-performance-302884096.html

SOURCE FutureSports

Continue Reading

Technology

A New Episode of Advancements to Broadcast on Saturday, September 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET

Published

42 minutes ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Discover how new technologies, tools, and approaches are addressing some of the greatest challenges facing society today.

JUPITER, Fla., Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — An upcoming episode of Advancements with Ted Danson is scheduled to broadcast on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 8:00 pm ET. Tune in to Bloomberg Television to watch.

Across four featured segments, the program examines how organizations are responding to growing demands for infrastructure, sustainability, continuous healthcare, and more adaptable industrial systems. The episode opens with a look at the evolution of construction and megaproject delivery. As demand grows for semiconductor fabrication facilities, clean energy projects, advanced manufacturing, transportation, and other infrastructure, the construction industry faces pressure to deliver projects faster and at greater scale. Watch to discover how artificial intelligence, automation, project data, and other technologies are being applied to the construction industry and are empowering a new generation of skilled craft professionals, engineers, and project managers.

The program then turns to the challenge of making food packaging more recyclable. Packaging represents roughly one-third of municipal solid waste in the United States, while food packaging presents its own challenges, because of contamination, complex materials, and recycling systems that are not always equipped to process them. The segment examines how packaging design can influence recyclability. Industry experts explore approaches involving recyclable P.E.T. packaging, pad-less tray designs, and clearer consumer disposal information designed to support better recycling outcomes and a more circular materials economy.

Healthcare is the focus of the third segment, which examines the movement from episodic care toward more continuous care. While American healthcare provides highly advanced acute and specialty services, care is frequently organized around individual encounters, such as hospitalizations, physician visits, tests, and follow-ups. Learn about the clinical “white space” between those encounters and how remote monitoring, clinical intelligence, communication, and human decision-making can work together to provide greater visibility into a patient’s health journey. The segment will share how continuous specialty care can extend beyond traditional healthcare settings and into the home and will include patient stories illustrating the potential impact of earlier intervention and ongoing support.

The episode concludes with an examination of modernizing industrial control systems. Learn why the demands of AI, advanced analytics, and cybersecurity are changing what manufacturers need from their automation systems. The show will educate about the limitations of traditional closed control architectures, including vendor lock-in and interoperability challenges, as it introduces Open Process Automation (OPA) as an approach based upon open, standards-based architectures. Viewers will see how the technology can allow hardware and software from different suppliers to work together, giving manufacturers greater flexibility to upgrade and adapt their systems over time.

This episode examines how industries are adapting established systems to meet rapidly changing demands. From construction sites and food packaging facilities to patients’ homes and industrial plants, emerging technologies are being used alongside new operating models and human expertise to improve how complex systems function,” said Dustin Schwarz, programming director for the Advancements series.

Featured segments in this episode include Bechtel, Lucid Corp, Streamcare Group, and Collaborative Systems Integration (CSI).

About Advancements:
Advancements is an information-based educational television series that explores recent developments taking place across several industries and economies. With a focus on some of the major innovations responsible for global progress today, the award-winning series goes behind-the-scenes to discover and share how technology and innovation continue to drive the world forward.

For more information, please visit
www.AdvancementsTV.com
or call 866-496-4065.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-new-episode-of-advancements-to-broadcast-on-saturday-september-26-at-800-pm-et-302882775.html

SOURCE Advancements

Continue Reading

Technology

McDermott Completes Refinancing; Strengthens Capital Structure for Continued Growth

Published

42 minutes ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Refinancing includes completion of $500 million equity rights offering, $550 million Nordic bond issuance and new long-term Letter of Credit facility

HOUSTON, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — McDermott International, Ltd (“McDermott” or the “Company”) today announced the successful completion of its comprehensive refinancing transaction, including a backstopped $500 million equity financing, a $550 million senior secured Nordic bond issuance and a new long-term letter of credit and guarantee facility.

The refinancing builds upon the Company’s strong operational and financial performance, including consistent project execution and disciplined bidding. This platform for long-term growth positions McDermott to execute its high-quality global backlog, pursue disciplined growth opportunities and advance its long-term strategy.

“This refinancing reflects the continued support and confidence our shareholders, lenders and bond investors have shown in our strategy, performance and future,” said Michael McKelvy, McDermott Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board of Directors. “We believe the successful completion of this transaction positions McDermott with the financial foundation to continue building on the momentum we’ve established through strong project delivery and a relentless focus on serving our customers.”

The completed refinancing consists of:

$500 million equity financing through a rights offering to existing shareholders, which was 97% subscribed by Class A ordinary shareholders and completed by the related backstop commitments,A $550 million senior secured bond issuance in the Nordic market due in 2031,A new long-term letter of credit and guarantee facility, andA revolving credit facility.

Collectively, these transactions are designed to extend McDermott’s maturity profile, further deleverage the balance sheet and provide long-term financing certainty.

About McDermott
McDermott is a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach engineered to responsibly harness and transform global energy resources into the products the world needs. From concept to commissioning, McDermott’s innovative expertise and capabilities advance the next generation of global energy infrastructure—empowering a brighter, more sustainable future for us all. Operating in over 30 countries, McDermott’s locally-focused and globally-integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
McDermott cautions that statements in this communication which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the expected benefits achieved through the completion of the refinancing. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit or capital markets; our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog; changes in project design or schedules; the availability of qualified personnel; changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties; changes in industry norms; actions by lenders, other creditors, customers and other business counterparties of McDermott and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This communication reflects the views of McDermott’s management as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Contacts:

Global Media Relations
Reba Reid
+1 281 588 5636
RReid@McDermott.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdermott-completes-refinancing-strengthens-capital-structure-for-continued-growth-302884031.html

SOURCE McDermott International, Ltd

Continue Reading

Trending